States People Centers Other Abūʾl-Qāsim ʿĪsā ibn al-Ẓāfir (Arabic: أبو القاسم عيسى بن الظافر; 1149–1160), better known by his regnal name al-Fāʾiz bi-Naṣr Allāh (الفائز بنصر الله), was the thirteenth and penultimate Fatimid caliph, reigning in Egypt from 1154 to 1160, and the 23rd imam of the Hafizi Ismaili branch of Shi'a Islam.
Terrified women in the Fatimid family called upon the Armenian-born governor of Asyut, Tala'i ibn Ruzzik, for assistance, reportedly sending their own cut hair in supplication.
[3][6] Ibn Ruzzik was named vizier with plenipotentiary powers on 17 June,[7] while the underage al-Fa'iz was placed under the tutelage of his aunts, headed by al-Zafir's sister Sitt al-Qusur ('Lady of the Palaces'), who had played a leading role in securing revenge against Abbas and Nasr for the murder of her brothers.
He scored some successes with a naval attack on Tyre in 1155 and with raids at Gaza and Hebron in 1157 and 1158, but his efforts to secure Egypt through an alliance with the Zengids of Syria under Nur al-Din Zangi failed.
[11] Ibn Ruzzik's reputation as a holy warrior, a poet, and a patron of culture was counterbalanced by his despotic rule, resorting to confiscations to address the by now chronic shortfalls of revenue, exacerbated by the active pursuit of the war against the Crusaders.